With their latest self-titled release, Church of the Dead brings terror upon us all with Horror encapsulated Death, a pure underground Finnish masterpiece.
This entire album is brilliantly crafted and ticks all of the boxes, yet if I had to pick stand out songs, it would defiantly be track 4 “ Rat King (Bringer of the Plague) and track 6 ‘Something came out of the woods’ because they are just packed with monumentality comprised of ruthless riffing, bloodthirsty beats and an eerie sinister feeling.
Church of the Dead is Jussie Salminen debut album with the band, bringing a deathly growl and guttural screaming with haunting qualities. Guitars by Kride Lahti are fast, complex to draw in your attention and has this overall staggering tone. Antti Poutanen’s bass has a fast style and evil thick sound, working well with the death distortion vibes. Flawless death/thrash style drumming is executed by Tommi Makkonen-Viheriälehto, bringing a heavy crunch and relentlessly thrashing beats.
Church of the Dead has a well-defined production quality while retaining that underground feel which I know all death heads crave.
This is an album which you can listen to from start to finish, possibly on repeat a few times.
I rate Church of the Dead self-titled album 5 out of 5 roo’s, but instead of roo’s let’s make it 5 plague-stricken victims of the Rat King because that track is ace.
Church of the Dead: Facebook
Release Year: 2020
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Finland
Reviewed by Alex